7. We’re Not Gonna Take It – Tommy. A great summation of the narrative. Still remember my father walking by and hearing, “We forsake you, gonna rape you, let’s forget you better still,” and surmised that he was thinking, “What IS that boy listening to?” Of course this segues into the See Me, Feel Me section.

5. I’m Free – Tommy. I swear the whole first half of the first chorus is out of synch, with an extra drum fill, which gave it a bit extra enjoyment. “No one had the guts to leave the temple.”

4. Love Reign o’er Me – Quadrophenia. I actually got turned onto this again after hearing Bettye LaVette sing it to Daltrey and Townsend, surviving members of the band, at the Kennedy Center Honors a few years ago.

3. My Generation – MBBB. Well, he didn’t die before he got old. Love the stutter in lieu of the curse. “F=f-fade away.”

2. I Can See For Miles – The Who Sell Out. I could tell this was on the radio long before the vocals came up.

1. Won’t Get Fooled Again – Who’s Next. I had this boss who, back in the day when I could play music aloud in my office (before cubicleland), would wander in and listen; he LOVED that song. “Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.”

Roger Green

5 Responses

“My Generation” was originally released in the US circa 1965 in the eponymous album “The Who Sings…” It was a revolutionary song, one of my top 3 Who tunes and the one at the end of which they smashed their equipment in a 1966 live concert in NYC. This album also had as its first tune a gritty, hard-edged song called “Out in the Streets” which you will never hear on any radio station, even satellite. And can’t forget “Substitute” and its ground-breaking lyrics (the Live at Leeds version has the originally censored line “I look all white but my dad was black”). They were more bad boys than even the Stones back in those days.

Nice list, Roger. I’d have trouble coming up with one but it would have a lot of the same. Tommy was my first exposure, and I saw it performed live at Tanglewood MA in Aug. 1969 (as backup to headliner Jefferson Airplane). MBBB I think was next for me, then Live at Leeds sealed the deal.

Saw them in Berkeley, Roger, maybe 1969, ’70. Played the Community Theater which doubled as the Berkeley High School theater. (Also saw the Kinks, Neil Young* (unfortunately, Crosby showed up) there).

Did most of Tommy, plus a few tunes from the earlier albums.

Favorites: Boris, of course. Pictures of Lily. “Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful/Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night/Pictures of Lily solved my childhood problems/Pictures of Lily made me feel alright.”